Archive for September 30, 2008

Well, the rumors are swirling that Carson Palmer could be in need of Tommy John surgery, though who really knows. At this point, owners have to be prepared to move on, just in case. For someone like me, who drafted both Tom Brady and Palmer in the Rotoprofessor Challenge Fantasy League, which requires 2 starting QB’s, it really has been a debacle thus far.

Are there any worthwhile potential replacements still on the waiver wire? Honestly, the pickings are probably pretty slim by now. Chances are guys like J.T. O’Sullivan, Trent Edwards and Matt Ryan have already been scooped up. Those are three options that would have been not only palatable, but extremely useful.

So, who could be there? Well, here’s a list of QB’s on the wire in at least one of my leagues who could be considered helpful:

Kerry Collins – Tennessee Titans – Some people have said that the Titans are a better team with him at QB as opposed to Vince Young. Couple that with the fact that the team is 4-0 and there is a very good chance that he holds down the job all season long. He hasn’t been spectacular, with 577 yards and 2 TD, but he certainly is a solid option and one that is worth using in deeper formats. He is probably the safest option on this list and the one I would grab first. Read more

Here are three players to watch in today’s games that you may want to gamble on if they are available in your formats:

Carson Palmer – Cincinnati Bengals – He has gotten progressively better this season, despite having thrown just 1 TD on the season. He has gone from 94 to 134 to 286 yards in his three starts, and his TD came in his last game (while he also did not throw an interception for the first time). He’s going against the Browns this week, a team right in the middle of the pack, allowing just over 200 yards per game through the air, though they have allowed QB’s to complete 70.4% of their passes (third worst in the league). He would appear to be a great option in all formats for this week. I think it is finally time for him to produce like the player we all thought he would when we drafted him.

Trent Edwards – Buffalo Bills – I’ve spoken about him a little bit in the past, and he’s a QB that I like in general, but this week in particular. He’s leading the Bills offense against a weak St. Louis Rams defense, who have allowed a league worst 116 points already this season. They’ve already allowed 12 passing plays of 20+ yards and 3 passing plays of 40+ yards. Basically, what we’ve learned is that they just aren’t very good, and I’d fully expect the Bills offense to take advantage of that. Edwards is a very good bet for this week.

Selvin Young – Denver Broncos – He has not been great this season, with only 26 rushes for 179 yards. The last time he faced the Chiefs, however, he carried the ball 20 times for 109 yards and 1 TD. Considering that the Chiefs have given up 204.0 yards per game on the ground thus far this season, there is every reason to believe that Young could have his biggest game of the season, assuming the Broncos give him the ball. I’d be willing to take that gamble.

Could Chansi Stuckey be this season’s Marques Colston? A seventh round draft choice by the New York Jets out of Clemson in 2007, Stuckey has quickly made an impact for the Jets, catching 12 passes for 122 yards and 3 TD in his first three games as a professional. He missed last season thanks to a broken foot.

It’s not like the Jets don’t have tremendous options ahead of Stuckey, with Laverneous Coles and Jerricho Cotchery holding down the two starting spots. Still, with Brett Favre at the helm, there are always enough balls to go around, which he proved last season in Green Bay. Six different receivers caught at least 30 passes, with four of them having 47 or more.

Colston, remember, came out of no where for the Saints in 2006 after being a seventh round pick from Hofstra. He has posted back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, including finding the end zone 19 times in those first two seasons. He had TD catches in his first 2 games, with 15 catches for 204 yards in his first 3 games.Read more

Last week wasn’t a good week for both Stash and I. Both of us went with a record of 9-7 as we took calculated risks as to who would have a good game and who wouldn’t. I mean, did you all see Miami giving the butt whoopin’ they gave the New England Patriots? I didn’t.So with that in mind, we continue on and hopefully shore up this weeks record with some solid picks.

That’s certainly a question that many owners are asking themselves as he has struggled out of the gate with just 12 catches for 141 yards and no TD. He had a tremendous first week, catching 10 balls for 112 yards, but after the Texans didn’t play in Week 2 thanks to Hurricane Ike he struggled mightily last week against the Titans to the tune of 2 catches for 29 yards. Included in that was a drop of a TD pass.

Ouch, that is not a performance that owners want to see, especially considered he could have gone as early in the second round in some formats (he went 20th overall in the Rotoprofessor Challenge Fantasy Leage draft). He is still the same player who has posted 2 season in which he eclipsed 1,000 yards and has had a 100 catch campaign.

Still, his career high is 8 TD, which he set in ’07, a season in which he only played in 9 games. That certainly gave fans reason for some optimism. In the last 7 games, he only had 1 game that he failed to have at least 74 yards receiving and had a TD in 5 games.Read more

Well, neither Felipe nor I had an extremely successful week picking games, with each of us going 9-7. That certainly is nothing I’m going to brag about.

Of the games we missed, we both missed the following:

Jacksonville defeating Indianapolis – Personally, I’m in complete shock that the Colts are sitting at 1-2 on the season. I know Peyton Manning missed most of the preseason, but still, you had to expect a better showing then this. I have to think that things will have to get better, sooner rather than later, especially for Manning. You won’t see him with more picks than TD’s for too long, so don’t panic quite yet. Read more

The Rotoprofessor Challenge Fantasy League has seen it’s second trade, and it is between myself and Felipe. I will give you my thoughts behind the trade now and I will allow Felipe to give his thoughts later on. The deal saw me trade Willie Parker & Patrick Crayton to Felipe in exchange for Steve Smith & Brandon Jacobs.

Using Sammy Morris as my RB/WR player, I felt like I was short a “skill player”, which this trade helped my acquire. I do feel like Brandon Jacobs is a slight downgrade from Willie Parker, but with Frank Gore as my other RB I feel like I am still very well stocked at the position. Plus, Morris is now available on the bench if need be, so I feel like my team is significantly deeper now.Read more

There have been a handful of moves in the Rotoprofessor Challenge Fantasy League since the last time we checked in, so let’s take a look at what the owners did:

The Rotoprofessor dropped Joe Flacco and picked up Kerry Collins. My need for a QB with the loss of both Tom Brady and Vince Young continues and hopefully Collins can produce like the QB he once was. Is he going to? Who knows, but it’s a better gamble then Flacco at this point.

Philly Phunters dropped Bernard Berrian and picked up Amani Toomer. Berrian has a bigger potential this season, but the question marks at QB and injuries have limited him to just 3 catches this season. Toomer is a solid player, though he is never going to be the top option in New York, not with Palxico Burress roaming the field. I’d consider Toomer if you need someone this week, but I am much higher on Berrian.

El Guapo dropped Tavaris Jackson and picked up Darren Sproles. Good move, especially for this week. With Sproles expected to get the bulk of the carries with LaDanian Tomlinson hurting, he should be owned in all formats. Jackson doesn’t offer much anyways, so he’s no real loss.

Cool Runnings dropped Shayne Graham and picked up Ryan Longwell. A swap of kickers, which is there really to say?

El Guapo dropped Steve Slaten and picked up J.T. O’Sullivan. In need of a back-up QB, he went for O’Sullivan who has not been terrible this season. In a league that requires 2 starting QB’s, O’Sullivan is the perfect back-up type player. Especially in Martz’ offense, he will have the potential to put up a big game when you need him, much like he did in Week 2 against Seattle.

Barry dropped San Diego’s Defense and picked up Brandon Jackson. Personally, I do like San Diego’s defense despite their struggles thus far and the loss of Shawn Merriman for the season. Still, Barry has a decent defense in Green Bay and wanted to handcuff Ryan Grant, just in case. Personally, I wouldn’t have dumped the Defense, but probably someone else to get Jackson, but to each his own. Still, Green Bay has Dallas this week and could be in for a tough game.

Barry dropped Rudi Johnson and picked up Michael Bush. One game at 16 carries and 90 yards was enough to pick up Bush. Personally, I don’t see him having a huge impact this season, with Darren McFadden likely locked in as the starter all year. Still, he’s a solid back-up, as is Rudi Johnson. If you have a need for someone like this, it is an either/or scenario. They are both gambles and not likely to have huge games most weeks, barring an injury.

Geckos dropped Dustin Keller and picked up Vincent Jackson. Jackson is decent option in deeper leagues as a back-up WR. That’s all he should be viewed as, and that’s all that Geckos needs him as. Keller was a gamble to begin with, and the Jets don’t seem to be making him a huge go to guy in their offense quite yet. Maybe later in the season, but at this point he’s no better then other TE’s on the waiver wire so he will be easily replacable.

Barry dropped Anthony Fasano and picked up Steve Slaton. Ah, Barry just loves these types of RB, doesn’t he? I’m not big on Slaton, who had just 43 yards in the first week of the season. Still, Fasano isn’t a big loss, so it’s a good gamble, just in case Slaton does put things together.

Dawg House dropped Dominic Rhodes and picked up Buffalo’s Defense. He needed a Defense for this week, and with Buffalo taking on Oakland, why not? Rhodes has no real value anyways.

Megatraon dropped Jeff Reed and picked up John Carney. Another swap of kicker’s and it’s a gut call. I have no problem with it.

So I layed down a little challange for my friend and buddy Eric Stashin. He knows baseball well, as you all may know, but how well does he know football? So he and I are going on a little competition and each week, we will pick who will win each game for that week. So without further interruption, here are these weeks picks.

After a small vacation I am back and ready to reach into my brain to pull out a few words in the mad word of the NFL, so here we go.

I hate to say “I told you so”, but I TOLD YOU SO. For reasons that are beyond me, the Minnesota Vikings have finally had enough of quarterback Tavaris Jackson by announcing that veteran Gus Frerotte will be starting under center.Several people told me.The Minnesota Vikings will be a team to be reckoned with.The Minnesota Vikings can reach the Super Bowl.With the trade of Jared Allen from the Kansas City Chiefs, the Minnesota Vikings will win this season. Please.If there was ever a glaring hole within the Viking team it was always Tavaris Jackson. A sub-par quarterback who has a ton of question marks surrounding him with the leading question being, can he lead a team to the Super Bowl?

Did you all learn from Bill Parcell’s project with the Dallas Cowboys named Quincy Carter and his famous “Bus Driver” theory?